Featured Reports
New From NPD
Would you like to know the ideal markets with the best opportunity to grow your share and improve sales and distribution — while boosting your profits? NPD introduces market level capabilities: local market research information for manufacturers and retailers. MORE
Coming Soon - European Athletic Footwear Report for the U.S. Financial Community.
Monitor the athletic footwear industry’s performance in five major European countries and the U.S. Compare brands and styles by category across countries using our new point-of-sale tracking data for European athletic footwear. MORE
Market Views Introductory Report for the prestige beauty industry gives manufacturers their first look at the next generation of point-of-sale (POS) tracking. For the first time, gain access to five new distribution measures, along with regional views of distribution and sales. MORE
Food & Beverage Buzz Monitor.
This bimonthly service goes straight to consumers to reveal their concerns, needs, and wants. Now you can track the established and emerging trends that can make a real difference to your bottom line. MORE
NPD's Connected Home Theater report provides critical insights to companies vying for a position in the evolving home entertainment market. It examines awareness, interest, and adoption of digital content via home networks and broadband. This landmark study can help shape convergence strategies by leveraging NPD's unique sales information, an extensive consumer survey, and analyst perspective. MORE
Insights Mission
Homeinternational corner
The British Nursery Market
By Julia Smith, Senior Account Manager
According to the latest government statistics, more women in Great Britain are choosing to have babies now than at any other time since 1980. Demographic trends such as parents getting older (and more financially independent before having children) and grandparents living longer mean more money is being spent on each newborn child than in previous generations. This, coupled with the increasing divorce rate, which results in duplicate purchasing of the same products across two households, has resulted in retailers having a growing appetite for all things baby-related.
Responding to retailers’ expansion plans within the nursery sector and industry requests for data, NPD launched its nursery tracking service in Great Britain in July. For the first time retailers, manufacturers, and licensors have access to a fast, regularly-delivered, and comprehensive view of nursery market dynamics.
The service launched with eight main category segments: wheeled goods, infant carriers, car seats, travel cots, safety, seats, electrics, and bathroom. Analysis is available for these categories at the manufacturer, brand, SKU, and license levels. The data is available on a monthly, quarterly, or biannual basis, and back data is accessible from January 2007.
The data will accurately reflect sales for those retailers included and will not be extrapolated. Great Britain coverage includes Mothercare, Boots, Halfords, Argos, Woolworths; mail orders; toy specialists; and grocers; amongst others.
The service is already providing clients with interesting facts and figures. For example, in terms of value the biggest supercategory is wheeled goods, followed by car seats and seats. However, in terms of units sold, bathroom tops the chart.
TOP FIVE SUPER CATEGORIES IN GB – YTD JUNE 2007
| CATEGORY | £ SALES | UNIT SALES | AVERAGE PRICE |
|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL | 100.0% | 100.0% | 27.68 |
| WHEELED GOODS | 32.2% | 16.5% | 54.03 |
| CAR SEATS | 28.5% | 20.3% | 38.91 |
| SEATS | 15.4% | 14.0% | 30.31 |
| SAFETY | 12.8% | 18.6% | 18.99 |
| BATHROOM | 6.8% | 27.6% | 6.87 |
Source: The NPD Group/nursery tracking service
Within the wheeled goods supercategory, strollers and buggies made up 42 percent of total sales. Travel systems were also a popular purchase over the first six months of 2007 and sold at a relatively high average price of £169.
Other market insights gleaned from the first six months of data include:
- The most expensive products are three-in-one travel systems with an average price of £369
- Side-by-side pushchairs outsell tandem by nearly two to one
- The most popular bouncing/rocking cradle is the Fisher-Price Kick and Play Bouncer
The nursery tracking service delivers reports to manufacturers and retailers, showing data down to the item level with market shares, sterling sales, unit sales, average price, distribution, and sales by store. These reports are available 10 days after the close of the data period.
Plans are in the works for the service to expand its coverage to France. The French service will cover Autour de Bébé, Bebe 9, Toys ‘R Us, Bébé King, Galeries Lafayette, Printemps, Carrefour, Auchan, Géant, and Cora. Growth will continue using a consistent, POS-based methodology, with services for Germany, Spain, and Italy next on the horizon.
To learn more about NPD’s Nursery Tracking Service in Great Britain, please contact Julia Smith at 01932 355580 (julia_smith@npd.com).
Back to Top